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Hazleton Mayor Joseph Yannuzzi said he will maintain an open door policy when an incumbent and two new city council members take the oath of office early next year.

While Yannuzzi said he's disappointed with voter turnout for the general election on Tuesday, he said he's willing to work with a new council lineup.

Voters on Tuesday opted to retain incumbent Councilman Jack Mundie but ousted Republican incumbent James Perry and Democrat Kevin Schadder. Schadder was appointed to fill a vacancy on council in December 2012.

Constituents instead opted for Dave Sosar, who reclaimed a council seat for the first time in two decades and former city mayor candidate Jeff Cusat. They join council members Jean Mope and Keith Bast.

Yannuzzi believes several factors contributed to the outcome, including low voter turnout, the Republican ticket running two candidates for three seats and "anti-incumbent" sentiment.

Two of the three candidates - Sosar and Cusat - who won seats on council were not incumbents. Sosar finished as top vote-getter, with 1,408 votes and Cusat followed with 1,397 votes. Mundie, an incumbent who ran with Sosar, secured the third and final council seat by a 108-vote margin over Schadder, the mayor noted.

Schadder and Perry, who were not re-elected, finished with 1,227 votes and 1,096 votes, respectively.

"If you notice, of the five council (candidates), the three lowest vote-getters were incumbents," Yannuzzi said. "Had there been another candidate, which there should've been, on the Republican (ballot) they would've all been gone."

Turnout also impacted the city council race, Yannuzzi contends.

According to Luzerne County Bureau of Elections, turnout at Hazleton's 11 wards ranged from a low of 13.38 percent at Ward 8 (with 163 of 1,218 registered voters participating in Tuesday's election) to a high of 41.58 percent at Ward 3, where 368 of a registered 885 people voted.

The previous city council election wasn't favorable for incumbents, either, Yannuzzi said. At the time, incumbents Chris Puza and Evelyn Graham lost their seats on council.

Yannuzzi, however, said he remains committed to his goals of bringing jobs to the downtown, keeping the airport fund in the black and working to improve public safety.

Yannuzzi said a cooperative arrangement between fire departments in Hazleton and West Hazleton has been successful and that he has received favorable feedback to his suggestion for hiring more police in 2014.

Sitting council members Mope and Bast have differing opinions on how the election will impact the governing body.

Mope believes the additions of Cusat and Sosar will lead to an improved working relationship among council members. The new line up will likely opt for holding work sessions.

"We'll have a council that will be able to work together," she said. "I think we'll have a nice relationship ... and a different type of atmosphere."

While the mayor believes the work sessions are unnecessary, Mope contends they will give council the ability to "share ideas, brainstorm and solve problems" without being rushed into a vote.

Taking a "realistic" look at the mayor's 2014 budget proposal - and examining all costs associated with hiring new police - are among Mope's priorities.

Bast, meanwhile, believes the vote is a reflection of the public's "dissatisfaction" with the mayor. Bickering that dominated public meetings over the past two years was politically motivated, he contends.

"People were painted as always agreeing with him," Bast said. "It really didn't matter if someone thought that it was good for the city or not. A lot of the bickering and demagoguery over the last two years was just based for this election."

Bast said he's willing to work with all members of council, even though some council members have been uncooperative over the past two years. He believes that any ideas he presents will likely get voted down.

Bast said he warned council members earlier this year when they voted to hire police officers that the city didn't have a permanent revenue in its budget to pay for the positions. He said he's curious to see how council will cover the reoccurring costs.

sgalski@standardspeaker.com

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